Nikon D70 Digital Camera Review

Front (7.5)
The front of the Nikon D70 is almost identical to that of the previous Nikon D100 model. The left side of the camera (when viewed from the front) has the right-hand grip protruding from the base. The grip is sized well for holding onto while shooting and has a smooth surface for comfortable handling. On the very tip of the right-hand grip is the sub-command dial, which adjusts settings when used in conjunction with other command buttons. To the right of the handgrip is a small circular light that serves both as an AF-assist illuminator and a red-eye reduction lamp, as well as a self-timer indicator. Continuing on to the right, there is a built-in flash unit located in the center of the Nikon D70. The on-camera flash unit, with its built-in speed light, can be put in either TTL (through the lens), manual, or commander mode via the menu. When the flash is released, you can see the small rectangular speed light located at the top. Directly next to the flash is a button which functions as a speed lock release button (to pop the flash up if it wasn’t done automatically) along with a flash sync mode button and a flash exposure compensation button.

Underneath the flash unit on the Nikon D70 is the camera lens mount. When attaching a lens to the Nikon D70 body, you’ll need to align the white dots located on the outside of the mount and the lens. Once inserted, you shift the lens to the left to lock it into place. To release the lens, press the lens release button and shift the lens back to the right. Buried underneath the lens of the Nikon D70 is the depth-of-field preview button. This tiny black button is so well hidden that I didn’t notice it until I held the camera up and searched for it. When using CPU lenses, this button allows you to preview the depth of field at the digital camera’s set exposure when in program, aperture priority, manual, or shutter priority mode. Located underneath the lens release button is the focus-mode selector which allows you to choose between automatic and manual focus.

Back (8.0)
The back of the Nikon D70 is clean and very organized. Beginning at the top left side of the camera, there are two buttons set off from the rest. The bracketing button (available in program, manual, aperture, and shutter priority modes) is used to operate exposure bracketing, flash bracketing, and white balance bracketing. This function acts as a way to ensure a single accurate shot by recording three images at varying aperture and ISO settings, allowing you to choose the best one. Next to the bracketing button is the shooting mode/format button. Within its shooting mode the Nikon D70 offers single frame mode, continuous shooting mode, self-timer, delayed remote, and quick response remote using the optional ML-L3 remote. When held down in conjunction with the LCD illuminator/format button, this button erases and reformats the entire CF card.

Directly to the right of the shooting mode on the Nikon D70 is the fixed eye-level Penta-DACH-mirror viewfinder with a diopter adjustment switch for improved viewing. Continuing along to the right is the AE/AF lock button, which is useful for situations in which the camera’s metering is not accurate for the subject you are shooting. In cases such as these, you press the AE/AF button to lock the exposure you want.

The most obvious feature on the back of the Nikon D70 is the centrally located LCD screen. The unique thing about the LCD screen is that it comes with a monitor cover made of transparent plastic that keeps the LCD clean and unscratched. This is a great feature that I wish more digital SLR cameras had. If you don’t like it, you can easily take it off while shooting and put it back while traveling, like a lens cap.

The most important command buttons are located along the left side of the LCD screen. At the top is the playback mode button that is used to toggle between playback and shooting mode on the Nikon D70. Next is the menu button, which brings up four menu subsections: playback menu, shooting menu, custom settings, and set-up menu. Underneath the menu button is the sensitivity/thumbnail button, which controls the camera’s ISO settings (when used in conjunction with the command dials) in shooting mode, and allows you to view thumbnail images while in playback mode.

Next down the line is the white balance/protect/help button. In shooting mode, this button allows you to select the correct white balance mode for your scene when used with the command dials. In playback mode it can be used to protect your image from being deleted suddenly. The help function of this button is used to help you correctly execute your task in the custom setting menu. The bottom button in the row is the image quality size/playback zoom/enter button. If you press down on this button in shooting mode and use the command dials, you can choose the file type (RAW, RAW basic, JPEG basic, JPEG normal, and JPEG fine) and size of your image (Small, Medium, and Large). In playback mode, this bottom button acts as a zoom in/out button. Once it’s zoomed in, you can press thumbnail button and command dial simultaneously to zoom in closer. To zoom out again, you just press the zoom button again. Finally, this button acts as an enter button when navigating and selecting settings within the menus.

To the right of the LCD screen is the four-direction multi-selector designed to navigate through the Nikon D70's menus and browse through images in playback mode. Below the multi-selector is the focus selector lock. When the focus selector is next to the dot, you can use the multi-selector to adjust the manual focus area. To lock this selection slide the selector to L and it will be set until changed again. To the very bottom right of the LCD screen is the lonely delete button. This is used in playback mode to delete unwanted images.

On the very right-hand side of the camera back are the memory card cover and access lamp. To open the cover, just slide the latch and it will pull open, exposing the CompactFlash card slot and release button. The access lamp lights up when images are being stored onto the memory card. Located above the memory card terminal is the main command dial. The default control the main command dial in manual mode adjusts is the shutter speed of the camera. This dial is used to adjust various other settings when used in conjunction with other command buttons.

Left Side (7.0)
The left side of the Nikon D70 houses the DC in connector, video connector, and the USB connector, all under two flexible rubber terminal covers. These terminals are used to connect the Nikon D70 to a TV or computer to download images or view them on a larger screen. At the top of the left side is a black metal eyelet to attach the included camera strap.

Right Side (8.5)
The right side of the Nikon D70 is taken up by the right-hand grip. The only other feature is a metal eyelet for the right end of the camera strap.

Top (8.5)
On the left side of the camera top is the mode dial, which offers seven digital vari-program modes: auto, portrait, landscape, close-up, sports, night landscape, and night portrait. These modes optimize settings to suit your scene selection, but only if you have a CPU lens.

To the right of the mode dial is the Nikon D70’s accessory shoe. It's compatible with SB-series Speedlights (SB-800, 600, 80DX, 28DX, 28, 50DX, 27, 23, 22S, and 29S), which can be mounted to the camera without a sync cable. To the right of the shoe is the control panel. The control panel screen is where the settings of the camera are displayed, including shutter speed, aperture, white balance, ISO, battery status, flash sync mode, image quality and size, number of exposures remaining, flash and exposure compensation, autofocus mode, focus area, metering mode, self-timer/remote control, bracketing, and shooting modes. Most of the settings on this control panel are adjusted using one of the two command dials either alone or in conjunction with another control button. Next to the control button is the LCD illuminator/format button used to light up the control panel in situations where it’s too dim to see. When the format button is held down simultaneously with the continuous shooting/format button, the card in the camera will be reformatted and the images will be lost.

Above the Nikon D70’s control panel, there are two buttons: metering mode and exposure compensation. The metering mode button is used along with the main command dial to choose between 3D color matrix/color matrix, center-weighted, and spot metering. These three modes (available in program, shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual modes) determine how the camera recognizes the correct image exposure. The exposure compensation button is used to adjust the image’s exposure if the suggested value is not accurate for the kind of image you want. By pressing down on the button and rotating the main command dial, you can adjust the camera’s exposure indicated by the positive and negative values on the control panel. On the top end of the handgrip are the two most important features: the shutter release button and the on/off switch that encases it. I like how the Nikon D70 combines these two features within easy reach of the index finger.